The National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru

The National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru, Spanish El Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología, e Historia del Perú, museum in Lima, Peru, noted for its historical artifacts that showcase Peru’s cultural history.

The National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru is the country’s first and largest state museum. The assembly of a national collection of artifacts began in the second quarter of the 19th century, though it lacked a permanent home. Much of it was plundered during the War of the Pacific. In 1905 the National History Museum was housed in Lima’s Exhibition Palace. The National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology was established in 1945, and in 1992 the National Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology merged with the National History Museum to form The National Museum of Anthropology, Archaeology, and History of Peru.

The museum offers a comprehensive overview of Peru’s cultural history, from prehistoric times to the present day. The museum also serves as the administrative centre of the National System of State Museums. Since its inception, the museum not only has showcased significant archaeological finds but has served as a locus of research and study. The permanent collection includes tens of thousands of ceramic, textile, stone, metal, and wood objects, tools, and technologies. It also contains more than 2,000 musical instruments and the remains of ancient humans. The latter range from burial bundles and skulls to complete skeletons, some of which date to 10,000 bc.

The collection is organized thematically and chronologically, with entire rooms given over to the different periods or cultures. Although the museum devotes much of its gallery space to pre-Columbian cultures, the collection also details significant changes in the country’s more recent history. A section of the museum, called the Liberators’ Quinta, is an 18th-century mansion of historical significance, having been occupied by the country’s revered liberators, José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper, Senior Editor.

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